


Lucky Indeed

by wintermute



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Aw dog no, Billy & Teddy, Feelstide 2015, Injured Dog, M/M, dad!Phil, meet cute, mentions of - Freeform, no animal abuse, veterinarian!Clint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 23:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5394500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintermute/pseuds/wintermute
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint didn’t think he was ever going to see the cute stranger that brought in the injured dog again. The man was probably straight and married.</p><p>(The man had a daughter after all.)</p><p>Luckily for Clint, he was wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lucky Indeed

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Feelstide 2015. I'm super late. LDF's going to kill me >_< Thanks to orderlychaos for the quick read through!
> 
> Prompt: Animal shelter meet-cute! The guys are either both adopting a pet or both dropping off a stray (ooh or maybe one is dropping off a stray and the other is adopting a pet), and they're attracted to each other and maybe flirt a little but they don't get each other's info. Alas, they figure they'll never see that cute guy again. But then the shelter has a holiday fundraiser dinner or something and they're reunited and get together

“Is anyone here? Someone! Please!” A commotion from reception jolted Clint from his staring contest with the computer screen. As much as he loved his job as a vet at the local shelter, he could do without all the paperwork. It was early still, and most of the staff that usually man the place weren’t in yet. He came in early to beat the traffic and to do an inventory of the medical supplies to make sure everything was on hand.

The commotion grew louder as pairs of feet ran down the hallway, passing his office door to the front lobby. “I need help! Please! He’s hurt real bad!”

“Sir, this is a shelter, not an animal hospital,” Clint could hear Kate, the receptionist and his protégé, trying to explain to the man, trying to calm him down the best she could. Except Clint knew that the closest animal hospital that deals with trauma was at least half an hour away, and at this time of the day would be impossible to get to. He got up from the computer chair and made his way to the lobby.

“It’s okay, Kate,” Clint said as soon as he saw how still the dog was and the blood that was soaking into the man’s suit. “Bring the dog to the back, scrub in, and tell Billy and Teddy that I’m going to need their help too,” he said as he led the way through the door towards the treatment rooms.

Kate nodded, taking his instructions and ushering the man towards the back, then took off to grab the others. “Come on.”

“What happened?” Clint asked as he started to scrub himself in, looking back at the man, the bloody dog in his arms.

“I was on my way to work to drop my daughter off at school, and I saw these kids in the alley kicking at something. I thought it was a homeless person or something. I didn’t know it was a dog until I got close,” the man said in a rush, before looking up. Clint felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the man’s eyes. They were strikingly blue, and so very, very kind. Clint watched as his eyes widened. “Oh my god! My daughter’s still in the car!”

Clint finished cleaning, dried his hands and backed his way into the small space that served as an operating room. He pointed to the table for the man to put the dog down. “Put him down here. It’s okay. I’ll ask one of my assistants to bring her in. What’s your name?”

“It’s Phil,” the man answered as he gently laid the dog down, patting the bit of clean fur behind the ears before straightening up. “My daughter’s name is Darcy.”

Kate appeared through the door at that moment, already dressed and ready. “Hey Clint, Billy and Teddy are getting ready. And there’s a kid in the lobby looking for her dad. America’s with her.”

“Darcy?” Phil turned to ask Kate.

“Dunno,” Kate shrugged, “she didn’t give me a name.”

Phil looked torn between staying and going to check on his kid. Clint had to bite his lips to not smile at just how adorable Phil was. Not appropriate, he reminded himself. “It’s okay, Phil. Go check on your daughter. I’ll do everything I can for the dog.”

“Thank you.” Phil breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Clint said.

Phil gave him one last weak smile before pushing his way through the door into the hallway.

The dog whimpered in pain as Clint checked him over, but his pulse was strong and the bleeding slowing. There were a lot of lacerations, two of his legs were broken, and he was missing an eye. The dog had lost quite a bit of blood, but there was no internal bleeding, thankfully. It took well over three hours to repair all the damage, but the dog was going to live. Clint breathed in deep and let it out as he peeled off the gloves and gown. The dog is resting, sleeping off the sedatives but he would be okay.

Clint was surprised to see Phil still sitting in the waiting area, a little girl tucked against his side. Phil had an arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulder, his chin resting on top of her dark wavy hair. There was a tiny purple down jacket on top of what looked like a backpack next to their chairs. Phil looked up as Clint walked through the door, and the girl sat up straight, eyes wide as she waited for the news.

“He’s going to be fine,” Clint said right off the bat, and was almost knocked over when the little girl barrelled into his legs, hugging him tightly. “You must be Darcy.”

The girl nodded, looking up at him with a big smile. “Thank you,” she said, softly.

“You’re welcome,” Clint smiled back, ruffling her hair. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

She shook her head, pulling Clint closer to Phil, who stood to offer his hand for a shake. “Daddy called the school. I don’t have to go today.”

“She’s in kindergarten. It’ll be okay to miss a day. I told them it’s a ‘family emergency’,” Phil said with finger quotes. Clint tried to not find it endearing and failed miserably. He’d been in crisis mode earlier, but now that he was back to normal, he was noticing all of the things about Phil that he didn’t earlier, like how he had a beautiful smile that reached his stunning blue eyes, and how warm his hand was. Like how his leather jacket and jeans showed off the man’s assets—

Clint coughed to cover almost choking on his saliva, and managed to squeeze out, “And here I thought it’s the parent’s job to set an good example.”

Phil chuckled, the laughter causing the corners of his eyes to wrinkle. Clint only just managed to not whimper. “Special circumstances.”

“Ah. I see.” Clint swallowed, forcing his face into something resembling a smile. “Well, the dog’s going to be okay, but he’s going to have to stay for a few days for observation.”

Phil nodded.

Clint looked at Darcy, who’d gone back to sit on the visitor’s chair. “Kate? Is the dog all set up in recovery?”

“Yup, he’s starting to come around,” Kate answered.

“Would you mind taking Darcy to go keep him company?” Clint asked as Darcy looked up at him again, smiling wide and nodding. “If it’s okay with you, Phil.”

“Please, Daddy?” Darcy turned the big eyes on Phil, and the man folded like a cheap suit. Clint couldn’t help the snicker that only grew louder when Phil turned to scowl at him.

With a big sigh, Phil nodded. “Yes, sweetie. You can go see the dog. But you be good for Kate, okay?”

“Yay!” Darcy cheered, bouncing over to where Kate was waiting by the door.

“Quiet voices, Darce! And be gentle!” Phil shouted behind them as they disappeared through the door, shaking his head before looking back at Clint with a roll of his eyes. “Kids.”

Clint chuckled.

“So, what do you want to talk to me about, Doctor… ?” Phil asked, sitting back down, gesturing to the seat next to him. “Sorry I don’t think I got your name.”

“It’s Clint. Clint Barton. I’m the veterinarian for this shelter,” Clint said as he took the seat. “You’re lucky I have paperwork to do today. I’m not always here, and never this early.”

“Lucky dog,” Phil mused.

“That he is. The thing is…” Clint started, then stopped, raising a hand to the back of his neck reflexively. “I don’t know how to make this easier, but the shelter is at full capacity for dogs. I don’t know if the administration can do enough shuffling to take the dog in.” Clint said, explaining things slowly while wringing his hands. He hated giving this kind of news to people, especially good people like Phil who saw an animal being abused and decided to help. “This dog is also going to need a lot of work. He’s got two broken legs that will need rehab when the casts come off, and he’s missing an eye…”

Clint could tell from the way the man’s eyes widen that he realized what Clint was implying. Dogs like this one have a very low chance of being adopted. The best Clint could do if their shelter couldn’t take him, was to send him to another shelter. “The best that I could do is guarantee that he’ll be sent to one of the no-kill shelters.”

“I see.” Phil said, eyes downcast. Clint could tell that the man was conflicted. If he lived close by, he probably lived in an apartment, and many didn’t allow pets.

“I’ll go check on them and tell Kate to bring Darcy back out,” Clint said softly, giving him an understanding smile and patting the man’s shoulder. Phil caught his arm as he stood. Clint shivered at the way a rough patch of Phil’s finger grazed over the sensitive skin of his wrist.

“Thank you for saving the dog.”

“Just doing my job. You’re the one who saved him.” Clint gave him one last smile before pulling away.

\---

The thing with living in a big city was that most people you meet were by chance and would probably never see again. It got to be a little lonely sometimes. Clint had lived most of his life on the move, never able or bothered to form connections for long enough to miss people when he left. It wasn’t until he started volunteering at the shelter that he started to really invest in relationships. Natasha, who was his supervisor at the time, was the first friend he made in the city, and it was her who convinced him that he could become a vet.

And it was also her who regularly kicked his ass whenever he needed it. Like right now, where he was _not_ sitting in his office moping while the damn dog slept at his feet, drooling onto his right shoe.

“Ugh! Ew, dog, you’re disgusting!” Clint nudged the dog’s head off his shoe and tried his best to rub the spit off onto the carpet. The dog just huffed and went back to sleep with his head on Clint’s other shoe. The cast had come off, but he still had a slight limp and walked funny because he had no depth perception.

Clint had adopted the dog (and named him Lucky, of all things) after it was clear that the shelter just couldn’t fit him in. He couldn’t bear to see the dog go to another shelter, even if they had no-kill policies. He tried not to think about why.

It’d been four weeks since that day, and somehow Clint was still hoping that Phil would show up to try to claim Lucky. He knew that the chances of him seeing Phil again after that day was slim to none, but somehow part of his brain hadn’t gotten the message yet. Despite the good first impression of Phil being a handsome and kind man, who obviously adored his daughter, Clint knew nothing about the man. And yet, there is a part of him that held on to that hope that Phil would come back to claim the dog he brought in.

(And of course, both Natasha and Kate had noticed, what with him signing on for more shifts at the shelter than he normally did. They took too much pleasure in making fun of him for it.)

It wasn’t like Clint even got the chance to flirt with the man at all, and he had no idea if the man even swung that way. For all Clint knew, Phil was probably straight and married—he had a kid after all. Clint sighed.

“Are you still here?” Natasha materialized at his side from one second to the next, scaring the shit out of him. “Stop pining. It’s unbecoming.”

“Jesus woman! Don’t do that!” Clint yelped and jumped, nearly falling from his chair. Lucky let out a long whine at his “pillow” moving too much. “I’m going to put a bell on you one of these days.”

Natasha just rolled her eyes. “It’s five-thirty. I’m here to make sure you leave on time so you can shower and change and not miss the opening speeches. Again.”

“Do I _have to_?” Clint pouted. Tonight was the shelter’s annual holiday fundraising, and Clint had never liked having to go to these events; large crowds made him uncomfortable. He did, however, because Natasha and the animals need the funding to keep the shelter open. He cared too much about them to not go make nice with people and grovel for money.

“Yes.” Natasha magicked a dry cleaner’s bag out of nowhere and thrust it at him. “Here’s your tux. I even made sure you have a purple bow tie to go with it. Go. I’m picking you up at six, sharp.”

Clint sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t ma’am me.” Natasha gave a light slap to the back of his head before whistling. Lucky got up and followed her out like he never did for Clint. Clint glared at the dog. The traitor. “Come on, you mutt. Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

It had started to snow a little when they arrived at the local community center that served as their venue the night. The place had started to fill up as they entered the ballroom, dog in tow. Clint shook hands along the way and greeted people who he knew from the community, as well as the dozens of volunteers that worked at the shelter. There were families there with children and pets they’d adopted previously from the shelter, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

“Tell me why I do this again?” Clint asked, a thread of whine in his voice. He could feel the dog pressing up against his pant leg, shivering slightly as he pulled at his collar.

“Because you love me,” Natasha answered easily. “Stop it. You’ll mess up your bow.”

“It’s uncomfortable!” Clint hissed.

“But you look good in it.” Clint could hear the inner eye roll Natasha was doing.

“You mean my ass looks good in these pants.”

Before Natasha could continue their usual banter, though, there was a screech and then a blur of purple and black barrelled into his leg. “Clint!”

“Oomf!” Clint barely caught himself from being knocked over by the little girl who was currently holding onto his legs like a koala. “What the… ?”

“Darcy!” A man came running after the girl, admonishing as he came to a stop in front of them. “What did I tell you about running off like that?”

“But it’s Clint!”

Now that the man had come to a stop and Clint could take a good look, he couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped his throat. “Phil?”

“Clint.” Phil said, sounding a little breathless. “I… Darcy…,” he cleared his throat, “I mean, it’s nice to see you again.”

Clint couldn’t stop staring at the man. He looked good; out of the t-shirt and jeans combo he wore the other day, tonight Phil was dressed in a sharp suit that fit him like a glove. It accentuated Phil’s best features—the broad shoulders, the strong thighs, the…  “Uhm, yeah. Hi.”

He was still trying to wrap his brain around seeing Phil again, when Darcy made another squealing sound and suddenly let go of his legs. “Puppy!”

Lucky had been hiding behind Clint most of the evening, which was why he was completely unprepared when Lucky made a break for it and jumped on Darcy, knocking her over to lick at her face.

“Lucky, no!” Clint cried out in horror. Damn dog. “No, stop, you mutt.”

But Darcy was lying on the ground, giggling and patting at Lucky, like he was her bestest friend in the world. “Look, Daddy! It’s doggy!”

“Yes, sweetie. Be careful okay? Remember, you need to be gentle.” Phil hurried to remind his daughter, before turning back to Clint. “Was that…?” Phil asked.

“Yeah. I, uh,” Clint’s hand was back rubbing at his neck. “Sorry about that. The dog had no manners to speak of. He’s good with people, but has zero boundaries. I couldn’t bear sending him somewhere else, so I ended up adopting him.”

“That was… that was very kind of you,” Phil said, softly. Clint wasn’t sure if the flash of regret he saw was real or not. “I talked to my landlord and convinced him to let me keep a dog, but when I came back to the shelter, they told me he was gone from the system already.”

“You did?” Clint blinked. “When?”

“A couple of weeks ago? I thought he’d been sent away already. Darcy was heartbroken.” Phil smiled softly at his daughter, now sitting on the floor with a dog in her lap, petting at the fur gently. “I’m glad that he found a good home with you, though.”

“If I had known…”

Phil shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ve been on parental leave from work after taking full custody of Darcy in the past few months. Once I’m back working full time, I don’t know if I’ll be able to care for both a daughter and a dog.”

Clint’s face must have shown his surprise at Phil’s admission, because Phil gave him a wry little smile.

“Divorced. Ex was moving across the country and my daughter wanted to stay.”

“You don’t have to explain…”

Phil reached out to squeeze Clint’s shoulder lightly, stepping just a fraction closer. “I wanted to.”

“Oh.” Clint felt his own eyes widen and his face flushing. “ _Oh_.”

“So what did you end up naming the dog?” Phil asked after a moment, not subtly changing the topic. Clint noticed that Phil didn’t take his hand off his shoulder.

“Lucky,” Clint answered, smiling when Phil started chuckling.

“Lucky, indeed.”

They stayed there, watching Darcy play with Lucky in companionable silence. Neither of them noticed Natasha slipping away, and the smile on her face as she did.

Phil huffed out a laugh after a while. “I’m going to have a hard time explaining this when we get home. She’s going to be asking how come we can’t take Lucky home.”

Clint chuckled, knocking his shoulder gently against Phil’s. “You know, you can always bring Darcy to visit Lucky.”

“During work hours? Don’t you have, you know, work?” Phil was still watching Darcy, but Clint could see the smirk forming on his face.

“Did I say during work hours?” Clint rolled his eyes but smiled.

“So, a play date?”

Now that was just straight up teasing. Clint glared at the man. “Or just a date.”

Phil was full on grinning now, and Clint couldn’t help grinning back. “So, do you have plans for New Year’s Eve?”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me here: http://thisiswintermute.tumblr.com/


End file.
